October 2010 Archives

Some sports commentators are saying that Jerramy Stevens' professional football career is over. AHN News reports that the tight end was released from the Tampa Bay Bucs after his recent arrest on felony drug charges. A police search revealed that the football player had 38 grams of marijuana in his car, which led to charges of felony possession of cannabis with intent to sell, felony possession of cannabis and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

There's been some rumors circulating around the state that Governor Jan Brewer was involved in a drunk-driving related collision in 1988. Here are the facts as claimed by the Arizona Republic's AZ Fact Check.

Jan Brewer rear-ended another vehicle on Interstate 17 in May 1988, when she was a state senator. DPS officers said that she was at fault for the accident and believed that she was intoxicated at the time of the crash. She reportedly had breath smelling of alcohol and failed a series of field sobriety tests. At the police station, the then state senator denied being drunk but said that she had consumed two drinks of Scotch.

If you're caught driving under the influence by Arizona authorities, perhaps you should hope that you're not in the city of Scottsdale.

According to KTAR, Arizona DUI attorneys say that Scottsdale is the toughest city in the state when it comes to DUI penalties and DUI enforcement. While DUI laws in Arizona are the same throughout the state, the law is certainly applied differently in each city within the state. DUI Attorney Jay Lawrence told KTAR says that the city of Scottsdale stands out as the location where DUI suspects have the most difficulty getting off with a lenient punishment.

ABC News reports that Laura Amelia Lopez allegedly crashed her vehicle into a concrete wall and steel pillar near 19th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road at 3:00 a.m. on October 4. After looking through photos of the collision, there seems to be a great deal of damage to city property. However, the worst part of the incident was that the woman's three children, ages 5, 8, and 9, were in the car at the time of the crash and sustained serious injuries.

The University of Arizona has a strong academic reputation, but the university also seems to have many underage drinkers and partiers on campus and in the city of Tucson. According to KVOA News, 139 people were arrested for underage drinking at UA during a two month time frame last year. That number nearly doubled this year when 277 people were arrested for underage drinking during that same time frame.

What happens if you drive after you've been drinking and then another car crashes into the vehicle that you're driving? Even if a person is not at fault for the accident, can he or she still be arrested for driving under the influence? A recent incident in Tucson shows that the answer is "yes." Even if you're not at fault for an accident, you can still be charged with DUI if there are traces of alcohol or drugs in your body.

How many DUI convictions does it take for a person to stop driving while impaired? Apparently, it takes at least 15 convictions for one person in Kamloops, British Columbia.

The Province reports that 58-year-old Felix Duncan Antoine was convicted of drunk driving 15 times, which prompted a Kamloops Provincial Court judge to sentence the convicted drunk driver to a 50-year driving ban on October 7. Court records reportedly showed that Felix Duncan Antoine had already received lengthy driving bans, but that these bans didn't stop him from getting behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol.

A fatal drunk driving case last summer is finally being wrapped up in the criminal courts, as 21-year-old Juan Carlos Loera pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault last month in Maricopa County Superior Court. The Arizona Republic reports that the defendant was charged after he crashed his car into another vehicle in June 2009 that was carrying a family of four. An adult and toddler reportedly died as a result of the accident along with a 19-year-old boy that was a passenger in Juan Carlos Loera's vehicle

Yet there seems to have been a slight increase in DUI arrests this year. According to the Arizona Republic, there were 1,611 drivers involved with DUI incidents or arrests in Scottsdale from January to August in 2009. This compares to 1,687 drivers involved in DUI incidents or arrests through August of this year.

DUI attorneys might argue that opponents of Proposition 203 are leading a very misleading campaign.

The organization Keep AZ Drug Free states that the passage of Prop. 203 will create a protected class for medical marijuana patients, who "will be exempt from the long-standing DUI laws of our State." Opponents are saying that medical marijuana cardholders will be able to test positive for marijuana when they're behind the wheel and not get a DUI conviction because of their medical condition.

Sue Krentz became a well known figure across the state of Arizona after her husband was fatally shot at his Cochise County ranch, possibly by an illegal immigrant involved in a drug smuggling cartel. This stirred up a great deal of anti-immigrant anger in Southeastern Arizona.

However, Associated Press now reports that Sue Krentz had to be airlifted to a hospital last week after she was hit by a vehicle in Douglas. The driver that allegedly hit Sue Krentz as she was crossing the street, Ramon Parra Saucedo, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, two counts of endangerment and two counts of aggravated assault. The suspect was booked into the Cochise County Jail after a test showed that he had a blood-alcohol level of .114 percent.

But does this mean that Phoenix has more drunk drivers
or does the city just have better enforcement of DUI laws? Officer Bob Baily of
the Arizona Department of Public Safety says that it's up
to drivers to decide that they will not drink and drive, but that law
enforcers across the state are continuing their tough enforcement on those that
drive under the influence.

About The Phoenix DUI Law Blog

The Phoenix DUI Blog takes a closer look at drunk driving cases, new developments in the law, and the harsh DUI penalties of Arizona. Citizens of the Grand Canyon state can learn about DUI issues, state specific information about drunk driving from this blog and learn how to contact a Phoenix DUI attorney. Have a comment or tip? Write to us.